Club Orient Oct-Nov 2013

It is time once again to spend my nude week of relaxation and attend one crazy Halloween party, but there is always time for a little birding.

Note a few things: my AFS-500 Nikon bird lens is home as one really isn’t supposed to have cameras here but I took a few shots anyways. They may not be of the best quality but they are what they are….

Some sites and looks around the Club Orient Property:

Eurasian collared-dove, strangely so rare here it isn’t on Ebird’s list yet I saw at least thirty every day so I’m giving a little grief back to those stuffy bird experts at Cornell Univ, lol…..like winning an argument with a liberal politico or worse yet, a tea party person…….is there a party of Birds? The Audubon Party…..we need a new party platform, more bird seed? No chickens in any pots? Ok, I’ll give it up.

black-faced grassquit, seen commonly around here

Green-throated carib is visiting my feeder I just put out today, we usually see a few of these here.

During the course of our morning nude walks, we would see the ever present sugar birds or bananaquit around. This one is off to a bowl of sugar water for a snack

I had to make a positive ID of this Gray Kingbird for someone believing it to be a shrike…I guess they sort of look like shrikes, never thought about that. This Kingbird found a bee hive to raid for dinner. The bees and the kingbirds were in the very same spot last year. Bees feed on a plant near the ground and this bird makes frequent swoops to grab the next victim.

This tricolored heron, apparently they also shouldn’t be here according to the bird listers. I have my doubts about that notion as I have seen one or two, almost every visit. But, I promised a photo since nobody believes Olaf. There is a second, behind this one not pictured and with his companion here, the snowy egret, they fish for breakfast in the salt pond behind the property

A female lesser Antillean Bullfinch in a tree near our chalet

I haven’t seen a merlin or a peregrine falcon this year but this American Kestrel might be at least scaring a few of the doves to death that are overrunning Club Orient

Suomo, one of the local quasi feral cats stops by, his sparring buddy Bentley died this week and his winter caretakers have delayed their arrival due to Red Sox in World Series, so he has been extra friendly to everyone looking for a handout or two, I tried to encourage him to eat a dove, but catching those large doves is not for the aged feline I fear…

Ok, the great Halloween Party…you want details and pictures, pictures are hard to come by especially since a woman painted to say “No Photo” was in the winner’s circle.

1st Prize Male, “Tonto” Johny Depp would be proud, great face paint and his wife was Lone Ranger, wearing chaps, a hat, well, she had assless chaps and a hat….3rd prize for couple.

Best Woman, Frankenstein’s Bride, she was Dorothy last year and was a surprisingly non winner but 1st this year and with her husband Frankenstein, 2nd place for couples…winners, nude Ompaloompas (sp?) from Willie Wonka, green hair, and lots of red body paint, and what looked like bra straps made to look like suspenders, way to go!

We had no professional body paint this year, three sets of jellyfish, some with lighting, we had slutty indian maidens, a Ho and Pimp, in general some really good get ups…what there were of them. Remember, Halloween here is a nude affair and to win, nothing important is covered.

I of course was the “Nude Birder” what else with two birds by my side……..People actually got it!

It is always important to keep your field guide with you, and strategically placed feathers make the bare breasted blue bird female more modest, oh it was quite the party and only through editing was I even allowed to include this picture, the rest….you just have to imagine!

The coast near Club O

a view from the front of our place

Another local rarity or so it is documented is this Least Sandpiper seen in the salt marsh behind the property

In the end we had a good visit with friends, good food, lots of sun, and some birds. Back to winter….